They began as a small squad of political thugs, yet by the end of 1935, the Schutzstaffel, or the SS, had taken control of all police and internal security duties in Hitler's Germany, from the local village "gendarmes" all the way up to the Gestapo. Militarized as the Waffen SS, Hitler's private army fielded 800,000 men, rivaling even Germany's regular armed forces. This account delves into recently released intelligence files and other newly available materials to reveal the SS as a cadre of fanatics and power-seeking opportunists. Placed above the law, they adhered to an ideology that disdained traditional morality and enabled them to implement the murderous institutions of the Holocaust.

"In this landmark history, Adrian Weale tells the 20-year story of the SS with much brio and authority, and presents a story rich in drama and horror. This is a major achievement by a historian at the top of his game ... a meticulous account of the emergence of the SS from its origins as Hitler's protection squad to the huge, ungainly beast that it became."—Literary Review (UK)